Second Chance
by Z.Quill
Summary: Seto Kaiba is trying to jump-start his life back into the whirlwind it used to be, and he's using Battle City 2 to do it. But, one duel on his way to the top may be what breaks him out of the monotony his life is, giving him a second chance. Twoshot.
1. First Chance

**This oneshot is the one I promised several months ago to the people waiting for Ch. 4 of ****The One Friend of Seto Kaiba****, but they never got. Sorry, but, like chapters 4 and 5 of ****TOFOSK****, this story just did not want to be written. I'm publishing it now because, one, starting in on another full chapter in either one of my existing fics would be insane at the moment, especially since I had this overwhelming urge to publish something **_**today**_**, two, I'm never going to be truly happy with this oneshot, so I might as well clean it up as best as I can and get it off my conscience and out of my thumbdrive, and, three, I still feel so bad about leaving all of those people waiting for Ch. 4, so this is my apology to them. I hope it's acceptable and that you all enjoy it.**

**(Again, I'd like to thank the avoidance of homework as the catalyst for my finishing this oneshot.) **

**Forgive me if I incorrectly portray the game of Duel Monsters. I'm basing it mostly off what I've seen in the anime. **

Seto couldn't remember ever taking this much… _enjoyment_ from a duel before. He didn't even know his opponent that well. All that he knew was from what the files at Kaiba Corp. had on her, which was mostly dueling statistics. She was good, rarely losing, and always carrying a certain amount of awe around with her. A lot of that awe came from her appearance. Frankly, that was one of the reasons Seto thought he was taking so much pleasure from this. She was gorgeous, there was no doubt about that, but Seto saw an extra aspect of her looks that he was sure only he could appreciate to its fullest.

Her eyes were the same color as his, cobalt blue, and her hair and skin were perfectly snow white. She closely resembled, in Seto's eyes, the two Blue-Eyes White Dragons that he currently had on the field, as well as the one he held in his hand.

Seto, at 1300 LP, had his two Blue-Eyes and one facedown card in play, while his opponent, at 400 LP, had only Luster Dragon #2 and Gragonith, Lightsworn Dragon, both in Defense mode to protect her. It had been an exceptionally challenging duel so far, not to mention a lengthy and silent one. It had begun two hours ago, at five o'clock as the sun was setting, with several bystanders. But, the combination of lack of derogatory bantering that was usually present during duels, and the time that it was taking left only a couple of unknown spectators watching from the shadows made by the buildings in the alleyway where the duel was taking place.

Kaiba had once again commandeered the city of Domino as the setting for another of his company's epic dueling tournaments. Battle City was nothing but a paltry game on which a few duelists had been invited to cut their teeth on in comparison to this. Kaiba Corporation's Tantamount Gladiator Dueling Title Fight, or Battle City 2, as it was affectionately called by the participants and Kaiba himself instead of its longer, official name, was a true challenge with even higher stakes and more involvement from the competitors. The winner of each duel decided whether their opponent was worthy enough to continue in the tournament, and move to the next of the levels that the tournament was using. Kaiba was already on Level 9 of the ten that needed to be completed to reach the finals, and he hadn't allowed any of the nine people he'd dueled to advance; they'd all been pathetic and undeserving to keep going in _his_ Battle City 2. Joey Wheeler had been one of those nine who'd crossed his path, and he'd taken immense joy in refusing to allow him to keep on going in the contest, despite the protests and threats of the mutt's friends. But, truly the best part had been aggravating Yugi Moto, and getting the promise of a good duel with him when they reached the finals, since they both knew they would. But, Seto was beginning to wonder if that would really be his best duel of the tournament when he had had such an amazing run with this one.

Now, though, it was his turn, and it was time to end this duel. He drew one of the few remaining cards in his deck after the long duel. Polymerization, the exact card he needed. Actually, he didn't need it at all. Just using his facedown card and one of his dragons would wipe her out, and then some. But, to stroke his ego and showoff a bit in front of the beautiful duelist, he'd decided to finish her off in style.

"I reveal my facedown magic card, Soul Exchange," he waved his arm in front of him to trigger the card. "And, I sacrifice your two monsters to bring my third and final Blue-Eyes White Dragon to the field." As her monsters disintegrated and his beast materialized, his opposition had a small, accepting smile on her lips, as if she knew what was about to happen. "Now, I activate Polymerization!" Seto added in conclusion, sliding the card into his Duel Disk.

The effect of his Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon appearing through the capabilities of his advanced holographic systems was a burst of strong wind bombarding everyone in and passing by the alley. Seto's clothes were made up of snug-fitting pants and turtleneck, with a trench coat and sturdy boots as accents, all in black and without many of the usual embellishments from before, since he'd recently given more into his less ostentatious, darker side. As the fast-moving air rushed past and against him, strong enough to knock him down, he was forced to plant his boot-clad feet in a stance that would help keep him standing against the short-lived gales. His trench coat blew out behind him like dark wings, making it seem like he was just waiting to use the wind to take flight into the night sky.

Seto felt exhilaration pulsing through him, encouraging him to take wing…

_If only he could…_

The appearance of his Ultimate creature furthered that exhilaration. In all the duels so far, and even the duels before the start of Battle City 2, they'd been so easily won and so short that he hadn't any need of any of his favorite dragons, much less the three combined. It had all been so _pathetically_ simple! This duel had been what had finally broken him out of the monotony that his dueling had become… _as well as the rest of his existence. _Finally having a true challenge that he was about to conquer had brought some animation back to his life, if only for this brief moment with this person whom he'd most likely never see again after this tournament was over.

With a fiery glint burning in his eyes for the first time in what seemed like ever, Seto Kaiba, swinging his arm to point directly at his opponent and adopting his arrogant, feet-spread, hips-forward, shoulders back posture, gave the final order to attack. "Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, attack her life-points directly!" he shouted.

His combatant's knowing smile grew at his command, recognizing that this was the final stage of a marvelous, demanding duel that they'd both taken great pleasure in.

As his dragon's blast enveloped her in a giant stream of electrically-charged light, Seto felt his excitement peak as, in a true blaze of glory, this specific challenge was overcome.

But, as her life-points dropped to zero and the hologram dissipated, Seto's thrill at the duel also began to fade.

The few people who'd stayed to watch the final outcome of the duel muttered congratulations and condolences from the dimly-lit sidelines before disappearing themselves into the night until only Kaiba and the loser were left. Neither had moved after the duel had ended; they were both in the exact spaces and poses as they had been, the streetlights at either end of the alley barely illuminating them, their eyes fixed on each other never-the-less. Eventually, Seto slowly lowered his arm and took a more practical stance, but he still said nothing.

She was the one who finally ended the silent, non-confrontational stand-off with a slight bow of her head, and modest chortle. "I think that's the most I've ever enjoyed being beaten, Kaiba," she admitted with a friendly smirk twinkling in her blue eyes and playing around her pale pink lips.

Seto shifted his weight slightly, lips twitching only a little. He'd almost immediately come down from his dueling high, and wasn't feeling all too friendly… but, that didn't mean he didn't still feel a shadow of respect for his dueling partner. "You're not the worst duelist I've faced, Kisara."

This time, Kisara actually threw her head back and let out a tinkling laugh. Her hair trailed and skated across her face, tips swirling around her thighs and knees. "What a wonderfully gracious and praising compliment, Kaiba! But, then again, you _are_ known for your cordiality and courtesy," she teased, looking at him with eyes narrowed in merriment. Oddly enough, Seto didn't take immediate offense at her laughing at his manners. But, he didn't think she was funny, either.

_He gave no response._

There was very little that Kaiba responded to these days, besides his little brother. He'd lost his fervor for… everything. Kaiba Corporation was the best of the best, there was no more need for the strategic planning and outmaneuvering of other companies that Kaiba excelled at and reveled in. His dueling, even after all these years, was still at its peak, except for the continuing losses to Yugi, both of which combined to make the game… tedious.

He was only twenty-two and he was already having a mid-life crisis. He no longer really cared about his job, handing many of the aspects over to lowly flunkies, which was why the tournament had ended up with such an atrocity of a name (the only reason the actual tournament itself wasn't a complete failure was because he'd started planning Battle City 2 in his spare time while the first one had still been going on). And, all that he'd been interested in, like dueling, held no interest for him any longer since there was no longer any challenge involved; everything was already mastered. His life was repetitive and dull.

The main reason for this tournament was that Kaiba was trying to jump-start his life back to the whirlwind of energy and powerful face-offs it had been. Mokuba had been in full support of this, worried about his brother's well-being. Even though he had acted like a cold, passionless person much of the time, there had still been a vigor and zeal for life that had shown through to those who had bothered enough to really look; that was mostly gone now, and Mokuba had been the first to notice, even before Seto, that it was going.

So, Mokuba had reminded his older brother of the plans for Battle City 2, and encouraged him to update them a bit and go through with them. Then, to add to the fun, Mokuba had said he'd join the tournament himself if Seto set it up. That had been what finally pushed Seto over the edge: having his brother dueling with him. They'd actually Double-Dueled together against Mai Valentine and her unknown partner earlier in the tournament, beating them with plenty of life-points to spare. Seto had been impressed by how well his seventeen-year-old brother dueled. Mokuba was well on his way to completing the ten levels needed to advance to the finals, where he and Seto had decided they'd duel against each other, if just to give the public something to buzz about. There was nothing like a good brother vs. brother scandal to get the crowds all riled up.

But, with the two duels that Seto was looking forward to most waiting for him in the finals, the ten duels needed to actually get him there had exacerbated his view of life being futile. Only this duel had engrossed him, but it was over now too, and though that meant he would be moving on to the finals, it indicated that once the finals, and Battle City 2 itself, was over, he'd slip back into his slump as easily as if he'd never left.

And, if that didn't just piss him off.

He was so sick of himself! He hated whiners, he hated people who weren't able to pull themselves up by their own bootstraps, and, therefore, he hated himself. In his mind, he'd always been too strong to sink to any level of depression, and yet that was what he had done. He felt like he was missing out on something bigger and better by continuing to do what he'd always done. But, _because_ it was what he'd always done, he didn't know what else to do. He couldn't figure out a way to capture the passion that, though hidden, had always driven him forward to all his goals. He had no goals now.

He had no passion.

When Kisara walked over to Seto, who was unaware of her approach, she saw not only an expression of anger and frustration on his downturned face, but also one of panic. He felt as the frigid mask he'd kept over his true, vigorous emotions, over his real self, had suffocated them and him in the process.

_He couldn't breathe._

"Hey, you know, you're completely wasting my gift," Kisara told him out of the blue, leaving about a yard between them.

He pulled his head up, showing her an unimpeded view of his now incredulous and ticked facial expressions. "What?" he demanded, almost growling.

"My gift," she repeated. "You're wasting it. You aren't living, you aren't enjoying your life: you're wasting it." She wasn't meeting his eyes, just focusing on tugging one of nine silver rings off her ring finger. The rings were the symbols of completed duels. Every duelist had started off with one, and they worked their way up from there, taking another each time they defeated an opponent that they didn't allow to remain in the tournament. Kisara had been busy to get almost all ten rings when there were still two days left in the five-day competition.

She succeeded in getting it off, and she held it out to him. "Here, another gift." She dropped it into the palm he'd outstretched.

"I don't even know the first gift you gave me," Seto stated, slipping the ring onto his own ring finger, the only finger left without a ring on it.

"Which is probably why you're wasting it," Kisara concluded with a bob of her head. Though her tone remained light throughout their exchange, there was sadness and a fair amount of anger hidden in the deep pools of her eyes.

"You'll be wanting this card as a gift, too, I suppose," she said, her voice somewhat stiffer. She took a card from her hand, the same hand she'd had for her final move in the duel, and extended it to him.

"I won it, Kisara. There's no "gift" being exchanged here. And, if you didn't want to forfeit you favorite card, maybe you shouldn't have joined this tournament," he snapped. That was one of the characteristics of Battle City Two that made it so much _more_ than the first Battle City: instead of your rarest card being up for grabs, it was the duelist's favorite that could be lost. This also helped to weed out the duelists who weren't as dedicated to the game, because they would not see Battle City 2 as being worth their time without the possibility of gathering rare cards. And, even with those duelists gone and the number of competitors being thinned out, the tournament was all the better for it with only the most committed and devoted duelists giving their all to stay in the game and keep their favorite card. The duels had meaning behind them, something that the mass production of Duel Monsters had almost taken completely away.

"Can I ask you to do something, Kaiba?" Kisara queried, seeming to give into something.

"You can ask," Seto returned warily. He reached out to grab the card, but when he tried to tug it away, Kisara kept hold of it.

"I suppose I'm going to ask two things of you." She closed her eyes and sighed, momentarily tightening her grip on the card. "Don't look at this card until I'm gone, and…" She opened her eyes and looked at Seto, pouring her heart into her gaze. "… and, know that this card shows that there are second chances for everything."

She let go of the card.

Seto wanted to laugh at her and remind her that, when it all came down to it, it was just a card game, but the look she was giving him stopped anything he might do of the kind.

She kept the look up for a little time more, before suddenly taking a step forward, rising to her tiptoes, and barely giving him a brushing kiss on the lips. Seto hardly had enough time to register the feeling of it before Kisara was turned on her heel and dashing away from him, down the alley. For a split second, the unbuttoned white coat she was wearing flared out behind her, and Seto's image blurred, almost as if another was being imposed on it. Before he could define what the second image had been, Kisara flew around the corner, away from him.

Seto stood alone in the alley, staring in shock and confusion, not understanding what had just happened.

_Did she just kiss me?_ It wasn't his first kiss, but… it seemed to have more weight to it than any first kiss ever could have.

Seto looked down at the card he was still holding, facedown as was requested. He didn't understand how just one card could mean so much, even when that was the premise behind Battle City 2. Either Kisara had been a nutcase, or this card really was that special.

_It has to be moderately special_, Seto thought as he noticed the silvery thread of a line that indicated that the card had once been torn, but then remade using Industrial Illusions' official Duel Monsters card repairing technology. It was an expensive fix that only the rarest and most loved cards ever were submitted for.

_What could this card be?_

Seto turned it over…

And, understood what Kisara had meant by second chances. Though, how she'd even gotten her hands on this card was beyond him with the opposition that had been shown to him when he'd attempted to obtain it.

The fourth and final Blue-Eyes was staring up at him, as whole as it ever was, with naught but the slight silver line cutting though the great beast's shoulders to show it had ever been damaged. There was nothing Kaiba would ever admit to regretting, but that didn't mean he did not, in fact, regret some of the things he'd done. Tearing up this card had been one of those things. It had been the tipping point where he'd purposely destroyed something that he'd loved simply to get ahead.

Seto stared at the card for some time… only to come to the conclusion that he had to rip it up again. He didn't want to, but to have the card used against him would be a pain even worse than destroying it himself. And, there was no one else on earth who would ever revere the card the way he did. No one else deserved this card, and, with Seto already having the three, it was impossible to take this one in as well.

As Seto turned the card and braced himself to rip it in half, again, and then leave it where no one could find or save it again, a stabbing pain raced through his temples, almost causing him to bear down to his knees and shout out in pain. He was just barely able to hold himself up and remain silent.

Scenes and images once again flashed in front of his eyes, and as each one did, the words 'second chance' sounded in his ears.

… His tearing up the Blue-Eyes White Dragon years ago… _Second chance_…

… Kisara dressed in rags and lying unconscious on the ground, surrounded by the stones that had been hurled at her by ignorant villagers… _Second chance_…

… His taking his first step into darkness when he'd threatened the president of the company he'd invested in when he'd been fourteen… _Second chance_…

… Kisara, eyes begging for help, looking back at him as she was forced into the middle of a fight, her body bound with the silk of a live Duel Monster… _Second chance_…

… His little brother looking up at him when they were kids, as if Seto was a god who could do nothing wrong… _Second chance_…

So many images, of regrets he had now and ones from a life he didn't remember, flashed before his eyes that they all began to blur together…

… _Second chance_…

… _Second chance_…

… until one final image resonated deep in his mind, heart, and soul, evicting a deep longing and sense of loss from each of them.

… Kisara, falling back, landing in his arms, and dying there… _Second chance_…

The sudden return to reality felt like one of those dreams where you think you're about to fall out of your bed, and you brace for it, only to find you're firmly settled in the center of the mattress.

Seto, breathing heavily and harshly, put a hand to his chest, right over his heart. In that hand he'd been holding the Blue-Eyes White Dragon card, and it was pressed flush between his hand and his sternum.

_Through the card, Seto felt his heartbeat. _

All the emotions spurred by the images had Seto in a dizzying high that he was desperately clinging to. Almost tearing up the card had almost been like a brush with death, making Seto more aware of life… like a second chance.

Seto pulled himself together, not too much: he had to keep a hold of his high. He began walking down the alleyway in the same direction Kisara had gone. Walking into the illuminated streets, he saw the sidewalks were fairly full of people walking about downtown Domino, and, by the sounds of it and the size of the crowd down the street, a duel was taking place nearby. But, Kisara was long gone.

Seto pulled out his cell phone and hit speed dial.

"Greetings, sir!" Roland practically shouted. "Congratulations on winning your final duel, sir!" Seto made a mumbling sound. "Oh! And, Mokuba also has reached Level 10, and, well, frankly, is waiting to rub it in your face that he got ten rings before you did, sir," Roland guiltily admitted. Seto actually smiled a little at that… He hadn't smiled in so long.

"Roland," he said, calling the personal assistant to attention.

"Yes, sir!"

"I need you to find two people for me using the Duel Disks' tracking systems. The first is Kisara—"

"The duelist you just beat, sir?" Roland interrupted.

Seto gritting his teeth could be heard over the line. He must have gotten lax in his disciplinary actions while he'd been… out of it for Roland to interrupt him.

"F-forgive me, sir," Roland quickly apologized.

"Yes, Roland, the woman I just dueled. After you find her, find me any pathetic duelist that still doesn't have ten rings. Make that two duelists, actually."

"Yes, sir! … Kisara, it would seem, is heading West on Trade Street, sir, seemingly on a straight path to the subway station, four blocks away from her current location."

"That's all I needed, Roland."

"Right… Um, welcome back, sir," Roland hastily muttered. Seto froze for a moment. For even his employees to notice…

"Remember your place, Roland," Seto said, not gently, but not unkindly.

"Of course, yes, sir. But, is it alright if I inform Moku—?"

Seto hung up. He knew that whether Roland told Mokuba or not of his sudden "reappearance," or whatever it was, Mokuba wouldn't believe it till he saw the light back in Seto's eyes for himself. Gods, Seto loved that kid. He couldn't think of a better little brother, or just a better brother, period… He'd missed him, and it had been his own damn fault. He was looking forward to seeing him again, _really_ seeing him.

Seto picked up the pace of his walk, and kept quickening it until he was in a full-out sprint, racing to get to Kisara before she boarded a subway train and sped away. He could find her again with the tracking devices planted in all Kaiba Corp. Duel Disks, but, if he waited for a more opportune time, he might waste whatever it was that was coursing through him, urging him to find Kisara and do what he knew he needed to do…

… When Kisara was half a block away from the subway station, she felt a hand fall gently on her shoulder, stopping her. Later, Seto would wonder if she'd known who it was before she'd turned around, merely by touch or a sense even more sensitive than that. When she turned to face him, there was no fear or confusion in her eyes, just a barely stifled hope that was dying to be realized.

Trailing his hand down her arm, Seto picked up her left hand, and slipped the ring she'd handed over to him back onto her ring finger.

Now, there was confusion in her eyes. Before she could ask why, Seto answered, "Because I'm giving this a second chance."

Kisara stared for a moment, then, tears began running down her cheeks. Taking his hand from hers, he cupped her cheek and rubbed the tears away with his thumb. "This gets a second chance, too." He held up the mended Blue-Eyes White Dragon card for her to take.

"But…"

"You could have used it against me in your last move. But, you didn't." He reached his other hand up to cup her face. "Thank you. And, if you don't mind, there's one more thing I'd like to give a second chance."

Eyes glinting, Seto bent his head, and placed his lips against hers. The stood in the middle of the sidewalk, people walking past them to either side, his palms cupping her cheeks, her arms coming up to wrap around his neck, kissing.

When they finally pulled away, Kisara's tears had stopped, and the glint in Seto's eyes had turned into a darkly burning flame.

"Come on," he said tugging her hand back the way they'd come. "I know where there are a couple of duelists who are begging to be ground into the dust on our way to the finals."

Kisara laughed, allowing herself to be tugged along after him, and teased, "But, Seto, what if they beat us? And, you, demolished at your own tournament? What a scandal!"

Seto aggressively chuckled, thinking that he could get used to her sarcastic sense of humor, and said, "They don't have a chance." 

**Thank you all for reading! **

**In my mind, I've always seen Kaiba becoming burnt-out on life should nothing change with his outlook and his character, so this fic is my way of making sure that things turned out alright for him. At one point, I'd thought of just cutting it off where Kisara walks (runs) away, leaving Seto with the Blue-Eyes White Dragon card, but my heart screamed "**_**No!**_**" and demanded that I make it a happy ending. I'm such a romantic fool. **

**I realize that to some people, Seto using Mokuba to take down Gozaburo would be considered the tipping point I mentioned, but, the way I see it, even if it was for the wrong reasons, Seto did what he did then to help both Mokuba and himself get out from under their adoptive father. While, with the card, that was mostly out of spite and did nothing to benefit anyone, even himself.**

**As I mentioned before, this was supposed to be posted months ago, but nothing seemed right for a long time, and nothing really worked out for the best with this fic. It's an immense, utterly liberating relief to finally post it, and it didn't turn out as horrible as I thought. I hope it's a nice apology gift for those kept waiting with my other fic. **

**Let me know what you think! **


	2. Second Chance

**It would appear that I lied when I said this fic would be a simple oneshot. I meant it when I first published this, but so many people wanted me to continue it, and, the fact is, I had a lot of ideas that I cut from the first draft that just wouldn't stop bouncing around inside my head. So, enjoy the second chapter (an epilogue of sorts) of ****Second Chance****!**

**I don't own ****Yugioh!****.**

It was half an hour before the end phase of Battle City 2 would begin. All but three of the finalists who'd made it were waiting in the lobby of the Kaiba Corporation building until Roland gave the signal for them to proceed to the elevators and up to the roof. Not as elaborate as a blimp and an island destined to be blown up, but this tournament had never been about outdoing the first Battle City.

Seto Kaiba was already on the roof, arms crossed, watching the helicopter that normally occupied the space where he was standing fly off into the distance to spend the night of the finals housed in a private hangar at the Domino City Airport.

It was just after 4:30 in the afternoon, but it was almost winter and already the sun was nearing the horizon. By the time the first duel started, the sky would be blazing red, burning light glancing off the clouds that hovered everywhere except for the western sky. Tonight was predicted to be clear as glass, though, the clouds said to have moved off into the East by six o'clock.

_Good_, Kaiba thought. The clouds would have distracted from the display that would be taking place on top of Kaiba Corp., a display that most of the population of Domino would be watching from their own roofs or windows if they had the chance. Many more would of course be watching it on their television sets around the world, but they would never get the full experience that way.

He heard the elevator _ding_ open behind him. "Hey," a voice said immediately after.

Seto turned around to see Mokuba walking towards him. Actually, it was more of a lanky gait with a hint of a strut added in. Seriously, one couldn't be considered a Kaiba if they didn't have a bit of an ego… alright, a lot of an ego.

"Hey," Seto said back, eyebrow rising at his little brother's appearance before the finals. But, then again, maybe he shouldn't be surprised at his brother's sudden need to be around him that had arisen over the past couple of days. Even now Mokuba had a big smile on his face as he took his place by his brother's side and looked over at him. Seto felt as if he'd been gone on a trip for a long time and had just gotten back. He narrowly held back the impulse to ask his brother if he'd missed him.

At age seventeen, Mokuba was now just as skinny and long-limbed as Seto had ever been, and they'd grown to be practically the same height as well.

_If only he'd cut off that bleeding ponytail, we could be twins,_ Seto thought, smirking, still unused to what his brother had decided to do with his hair, even if it wasn't a new feature. Mokuba's smile turned slightly vicious as he took in his brother's expression. "What the hell's so funny?"

"The person standing next to me with the girls' haircut who claims to be my _brother_," Seto ribbed, smirk growing. Mokuba laughed, crossing his arms in front of him, imitating his brother's stance.

"Whatever. You're just jealous that your hair isn't as thick and full as mine," Mokuba joked, flipping his hand back through his ponytail in an overly glorified diva-fashion.

"Yes, that's _exactly_ the reason why, Mr. Pantene Pro-V."

Mokuba snorted as the KC symbol imbedded in Seto's new black trench coat flared red and beeped, calling for Seto's attention.

"Sir? Shall I allow the duelists up now?" Roland asked.

"Might as well," Seto answered. It would give the people manning the cameras up on the roof a chance to get themselves settled and familiar with the duelists they'd be filming.

"One of the duelists hasn't shown up yet," Mokuba said, having done a head count while he was down below.

"Yeah. Don't worry about it. I told her she could show up late if she wanted to."

"Oh?" Mokuba looked over at his brother, his purple eyes becoming calculating. "Is it that girl, Kisara, who you had Roland track down for you?"

Seto frowned a little. It looks like Roland had blabbed about more than just Seto being back, or at least closer, to his original self.

"I'll take that crease between your eyebrows as a 'yes.'"

"Be quiet, or I'll kick you out of my tournament."

Mokuba was snorting when the elevators _ding_-ed open again, and the other duelists filed out. Yugi Moto had, once again, brought his geek squad with him for moral support.

Seto smirked slightly to himself. He'd missed these feelings of contempt and superiority; they were like slipping on a second, wonderfully comfortable skin.

The Mutt gave him dirty, scowling look as he trudged after his friend. Apparently, Wheeler had been telling everyone that he'd come in contact with that it was the new tournament rules that had gotten him off his game and it was all Kaiba's fault for making them up for his own advantage. From what Seto heard, even his friends laughed at Wheeler when he cited this diabolical plan on Kaiba's part for Joey's losing to him.

_Pathetic loser._

But, Seto just might have to stop calling other people that after how he behaved two days ago. Had he seriously placed the ring on her _ring_ finger? My gods, could he have been any cheesier? But, then again, if that was all he worried about from that night, he just might be able to get over it without too much trouble.

Finding a way to live with the first girl he'd been attracted to in a while was a white lightning-firing dragon from five thousand years ago when he himself had been a priest to the pharaoh was going to be a bit more difficult, especially since he actually had to believe it now.

The elevators opened once more to reveal Roland and someone else who snuck out from behind him and kept to the shadows. Roland made his way over to his bosses, and, after a moment, decided to address his words to Seto rather than Mokuba who'd been handling stuff more and more often.

"Sir, the final duelist has arrived… Are we ready to get things started?" he nervously queried.

"Yes, get on with it." Seto waved his hand dismissively.

"Yes, sir."

As Roland moved away, Seto felt someone move behind him.

"Hey… _Kaiba_." His name seemed to roll sloppily off her tongue, as if she didn't know how to pronounce it.

Looking cautiously over his shoulder, his peripheral vision caught a flash of white and a glimpse of blue before facing forward again.

"Kisara," he greeted. Kisara smiled behind him and moved to stand on his left. Mokuba leaned forward, trying to see around his brother to the new girl.

"Hey! What, she don't get a reprimand for bein' late but my boy Yugi does?" Wheeler shouted from across the roof. "That's not fair, Kaiba! But, who eva' expected _you_ to be fair?"

"Your continued squawking isn't going to get you back into my tournament, Wheeler," Seto informed.

"Dat's it, Kaiba!" Joey had to be held back by his friends from launching himself across the roof and doing his best to pummel Seto's face in. Ah, Seto missed sending people into spiraling depths of rage from which they had no chance of ever gaining revenge against him. It was just so… Seto.

He felt a deep sense of self-satisfaction warming his insides.

"I didn't know you could smile that widely, Kaiba," Kisara commented, her own mouth curving slightly upward.

"Neither did I," Mokuba added, leaning forward even more to get a better look at his brother. He quickly ended up switching his attention to Kisara.

"Hello, I'm Mokuba," he greeted, sticking his hand out and grinning at her with a flirtatious spark in his eyes and note in his voice.

Seto's eyes narrowed and he pushed Mokuba's arm out of the way before Kisara could shake his hand. "Keep your mitts to yourself, Casa Nova," he hissed at his little brother, causing Mokuba's lavender eyes to widen considerably.

Kisara chuckled, earning a glare from Seto, but didn't make any comment about his sudden spurt of jealousy.

After a moment, Seto turned his head and, meeting eyes with Roland, nodded at the man to proceed.

"Attention, duelists!"

And, the finals began.

* * *

A few duels later:

"The next duel is… Seto Kaiba versus Mokuba Kaiba!" Roland shouted over the loudspeakers. Even dozens of floors above the ground, Seto could still hear the crowds gathered around the base of Kaiba Corporation building cheering and screaming their heads off as the next duel was announced.

"Whoot!" Mokuba called out, pumping a fist into the air.

Kisara laughed on the other side of Seto. Seto wondered if she guessed that Mokuba and Seto had planned this the entire time as a publicity stunt.

"Hey, Seto," Mokuba whispered to him as they made their way to the middle of the roof. "How about we make this duel a little more interesting?"

"How so?" Seto asked, curiosity piqued.

"Besides handing over their favorite card, the loser also has to allow the other to date Kisara."

Seto just about choked. "_What?_"

"You heard me, Seto. Whoever wins gets first dibs with Kisara."

"I'm going to wipe the floor with you," Seto snarled, looking over his shoulder quickly, espying Kisara giving them a suspicious glare.

Mokuba laughed then, but by the time the duel was over, any semblance of a smile was gone from his face. _That_ was how badly his brother beat him.

Kisara and Yugi was the next matchup. And, Kisara did put up one hell of a fight, just as she had with Seto. But, as arrogant and annoying as it was, Seto knew that if she hadn't won against him, she wouldn't win against Yugi Moto. He ended up being right, but it had been a fascinating duel to watch with Kisara quickly and efficiently chipping away at Yugi's life points with her deck full of dragons and light-type monsters, nifty spell cards, and self-serving traps. Seto swore he saw Yugi about to fall right on his ass once Kisara summoned the Blue-Eyes he'd let her keep. He knew he saw Kisara flash a brilliant, deviously flashing smile as she did. In several acts of desperation, or so Seto perceived them, Yugi eventually succeeded in ripping the life points out from under her.

"Looks like you're going to get my Blue-Eyes after all," she commented as she came to stand beside him.

"_Your_ Blue-Eyes? I've been meaning to ask you—"

"I conned Solomon Moto out of it by promising to have it fixed. Now, you have your chance to get me back."

Seto's face screwed up even as the cameras turned to him and Yugi, waiting for Seto to step up for the finals truly final duel.

"No more random flashbacks if I get it, deal?" he muttered to her, getting a weird look from Mokuba who overheard.

Kisara giggled and nodded in an almost noncommittal fashion. He glared at her as he took his first steps forward, but she just smiled back and made a shooing motion.

After a lot of hullabaloo, during which the more serious Yugi that always appeared in their duels gave Seto an acknowledging nod, which Seto returned, surprising Yugi, the final match began.

* * *

…Seto won.

In the several moments of silence afterwards, Seto thought, _This can't be real_.

He'd been working for so long to do this, had sworn to everyone who'd questioned his resolve about beating Yugi that he _would_ do this. He'd spent the past five years fighting to this goal a reality, and, now that it was here, he couldn't even gloat over it.

It wasn't until the cheers of the crowd emanating up the several dozen stories below them and the finals reached Seto's ears that he could finally do more than blink.

Seto took a nearly staggering step back, which seemed to shock Roland back into form as well.

"…Uh, um," he shouted into the mike, straightening his sunglasses as he did. "The winner of, um, Kaiba Corporation's T-Tantamount Glad—"

"Oh, shut up and give that to me," Mokuba spat, having made his way over to the commentator and taking his microphone away from him, his own voice being broadcasted for everyone to here and laugh at. "Everyone, the winner of Battle City 2, Seto Kaiba!"

The applause and whooping down at ground level got even louder. Over it though, Seto could hear Wheeler complaining loudly, "Oh, come on. It was rigged! Him winnin' his _own_ tournament? _Puhlease!_"

That brought Seto fully back to himself.

"Are you _still_ griping about being booted out, Mutt? It's not like you would have won anyway." There was not as much bite in his tone as there normally should have been; he was still so dazed.

The mutt began sputtering in his outrage, but Seto had already turned away and was walking from the center of the roof. Partway through, he remembered the various television cameras still trained on him and paused to hold up on arm in a still wave and look each camera in the lens. The cheers grew to screams.

"Ham it up, why don't you?" Mokuba teased before wrapping his brother in a great, big hug. He'd handed the mike back to Roland, who was now jabbering on about this and that as demanded by the official Kaiba Corp. script.

Seto returned the hold as Mokuba nearly squealed, "You finally did it!"

"Yeah, I was finally able to do it on my, what, twentieth chance?"

Mokuba's eyes widened hugely and he laughed as he pulled back, almost nervously. "My gods. You win against Yugi _and_ make fun of yourself for how long it took you. The world really has flipped on its head!"

"No, I've just flipped on mine," Seto mumbled to himself.

Yugi was the next to come up and offer his congratulations. It would have been more sporting had Kaiba played the part of the benevolent winner rather than making Yugi bear the olive branch, but that had never been his style and the world knew it.

"My grampa's going to kill me for this," Yugi started out, "but I this really is yours now." And, Yugi extended the repaired Blue-Eyes White Dragon that Seto had been responsible for tearing in the first place.

It made sense, to Seto at least, that the card would instantly become Yugi's favorite upon getting it back for his grandfather. It must be a real bummer to lose it again so quickly.

_This is the second chance I've had to take it,_ Seto thought, and it almost scared him.

_I should just say 'no, thanks' and avoid the whole thing altogether. It would be good PR…_

_And, it would absolutely kill me. And, possibly Kisara._

Seto's eyes drifted from the card over to Kisara.

He swore her eyes were glowing as he met them, and he doubted it was caused by the lighting that had been installed for the finals. She was a dragon in sheep's clothing, standing on the roof of his company, probably testing him again on whether or not he took the card.

Here was the thing: on a level so deep inside of him that it was barely noticeable, Seto was terrified out of his ever-loving mind. He was scared beyond belief that the past few days was a fluke, and whether he took the card or not, he was eventually going to fall back into the apathetic, zombie-like state that he'd been puttering around in for the last _half a decade_.

If he didn't take the card, he knew that would happen. And, he had the strong gut-feeling that by not taking the card, Kisara would leave, probably following that card to Yugi Moto. Which ticked the hell out of Seto, even though he knew he was jumping to conclusions.

But, if he did take the card, Kisara would probably stick around for at least a while. The first time Seto had touched the card, he'd felt nothing. It wasn't until Kisara had shown up and specifically handed it to him herself that something happened, that he was shocked into being alive again. For all he knew, it had been a onetime zap, but if it wasn't…

Seto snatched the card from Yugi's hand so fast he almost tore it again and nearly gave Yugi a paper cut.

Joey Wheeler had been in the middle of urging Yugi to just take the card and run, but quickly changed his tune to, "Jeez, Kaiba, take his arm off, why don't ya!"

Ignoring the attempt at a dig, Seto met Yugi's eyes and nodded slightly in thanks. Yugi smiled, checking out the spark in Kaiba's eyes that even he'd noticed had been gone for a time.

"Maybe you could be a little nicer to it this time?" Yugi suggested hesitantly, wincing as he tried to keep his expression jovial.

"That's a sure thing." Spinning out of the small group that had surrounded him, Seto strode over to the edge of the building where Kisara waited, slowly clapping her hands with a giant grin on her face.

"Well, you did it—"

He cut her off by wrapping her in his arms and swinging her lips up to his.

He heard gasping and several cries of 'oh my gods' all around them as they kissed, as well as Mokuba snorting again and saying, "He did win our duel, after all," to which Wheeler responded, "Wait, _huh?_"

Neither Seto nor Kisara heard them or the catcalls emanating up from the streets.

_Maybe I would have accepted the past earlier if this had been one of the incentives._ Seto smiled into the kiss. _I guess that's what second chances are all about._

**Thanks for reading!**

**For the record, I am marking this as complete, and I have every intention of keeping it that way this time. Sorry if that's a disappointment to some of you, but I still have so much to do with Z. Quill, and with college starting, that I can't deal with another fic (other than one oneshot that I was requested to make that's been delayed too. Sorry, harinezumiko, I promise I'll be getting on that soon).**


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